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HTC Wildfire S review: Video

Video quality is one of the bigger compromises on the HTC Wildfire S. The maximum resolution here is 640x480, so there are definitely no HD ambitions on display. This is a bit of a shame, as 720p recording was on the spec sheet when the phone was revealed at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. But it's not in the finished phone.

You are, however, able to zoom in when recording clips, although be prepared to wait a while – this is a very, very laggy and jerky process.

The sensor also chugs noticeably when moving from light areas to dark, meaning it's possible to watch the phone reduce or increase brightness step by step. Couple this with the clunky zoom and it gets very messy indeed.

Back on the positive side of things, the LED light can be set to be permanently on for illuminating dark scenes, plus you have manual control of white balance.

The frame rate stays pretty solid, and the picture isn't as blotchy as that found on some lower-spec smartphones. It's perfectly usable, but the HTC Wildfire S remains one of the poorer-performing Android phones out there when it comes to video recording.